ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — For the Watts family, military service is a family tradition.
What You Need To Know
- Christopher Watts is an Army veteran who served three years active duty
- Watts reflected on events happening in Afghnaistan, after he received news his barber was able to flee
- Watts opened a gym in Elizabethtown when he left active duty
- Mandatory Fun is a gym that offers Crossfit and weightlifting classes in Elizabethtown
“Mom's dad, dad's dad – they enlisted. My dad, he retired as well so it was just a path," Army veteran Christopher Watts said. "It was already written, I just had to sign the papers."
The Elizabethtown native continued that narrative, serving three years active duty. Watts spent time in both Afghanistan and Iraq before retiring in 2019.
During Watts’ time in Iraq, he worked with a lot of interpreters whereas in Afghanistan, where he served as a contractor, Watts was able to build strong connections with the locals.
“I was an infantry guy, so it was just a mission, complete, come home. Afghanistan was a completely different story, I got to mix and talk to locals more so that relationship was built. So it was more than just like hey you’re here to do this, it's here now live,” Watts said.
One of those relationships Watts built was with a local barber in Kabul, Afghanistan.
“So over there you can either cut your hair yourself or you can provide for the local trying to provide for his family and do better so that's what I did. I used the local barber, [he's] fantastic. He probably could win barber of the year at some competitions here,” Watts said.
But as the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Watts kept his phone close awaiting good news about his barber.
“The relationship with him was just so genuine that he’s family, he’s pretty much like a brother. I'm pretty ecstatic, excited that he was able to make it out,” Watts said.
For now, Watts is continuing to use the lessons he learned in Afghanistan, making connections within the walls of his own gym.
After owning a gym in the past, Watts knew he wanted to take on a different role after retiring from the Army and why he opened Mandatory Fun.
“It's all about how we can make the person better, what can we teach them and how do we make the person that signed up for the membership a better individual at the end of the day opposed to my pockets being heavy,” Watts said.
Mandatory Fun has been open for the last two years in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The gym offers Crossfit and USAW/weightlifting classes. It's the only Barbell Club in Hardin County.
Chrisotpher Watts also competed in the NBC show "The Titan Games" in January of 2019.
You can learn more information about Mandatory Fun on their Facebook and Instagram pages.